Monday, June 20, 2011

A Zionist’s Response to “What’s the Difference Between Zionism and Racism?”

I recently posted an article entitled “President Obama: What’s the Difference Between Zionism and Racism?” In response I received several comments from a gentlemen who posts under the name of Tim 2. His comments were so reflective of the typical Zionist reaction to this debate that I thought it would be enlightening to present it as an article under its own name.

Tim 2June 18, 2011 - 4:26 pm

Eric – You obviously believe the Jewish State of Israel has no right to exist and should not exist. As a result, everything else that comes from you is just hot air and noise. If the majority of Palestinians and other Arabs/Muslims believe as you do, then there will be no peace. And, more importantly, if the goal of Arabs/Muslims is your goal, to destroy Israel, then your criticism of Israel is worthless and empty and hypocritical and non-substantive and arrogant and duplicitous and, of course, self-serving.
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Also, for you to believe that you are not anti-Semitic (all stupid word games aside) is atrocious and flagrant self-deception at best and purposeful and callous malevolence at worst.
.Eric L. Wattree June 19, 2011 - 8:17 am
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Tim 2,
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I have a philosophy that I’ve developed over the years about ALL ideologues regardless to their ideology, and it is the following: Efficient thinkers give truth priority over ideology, while ideologues give ideology priority over truth.
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Your comment just validated that philosophy. Like most ideologues, you seem to see things in black and white, and you also tend to make unwarranted assumptions. What evidence do you have that I don’t think Israel has a right to exist? I was very clear in the article that I don’t like the way the United States came into being either, but that doesn’t mean that I’m advocating the overthrow of the United States. So what made you leap to the conclusion that I was advocating the destruction of Israel? The fact is, I’d settle for the outrageous compromise of agreeing that Israel stop stealing land under the pretext of national defense, and exist as a true egalitarian democracy. That would work for me, how about you?
.Tim 2 June 19, 2011 - 12:56 pm
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Explain to me what you mean by an “egalitarian democracy” first. A dollar will get you a hundred that your solution is the destruction of the nation-state of the Jews (ie, as Israel exists now).
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The truth is Eric, you and everyone like you deny not only the history of the Jewish people (probably the most severe type of anti-Semitism) but believe you are clever enough to formulate your hate and motivations in such a way that they become opaque or even mis-understood.
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When you can accept Israel as the nation-state of the Jews, then I’ll listen. Otherwise, you’re just whistling dixie.
.Eric L. Wattree June 19, 2011 - 5:05
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Tim 2,
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I think that egalitarian democracy is self-explanatory – a one man, one vote democracy where every person has equal rights. You knew exactly what it meant, but you want a state that has a legal right to discriminate against all non Jews. There’s a word for that – bigotry. Thus you’re arguing for the legal right to do to others what you’re always whining about being done to you. That seems kind of hypocritical to me.
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And Tim, your insistence that anyone who disagrees with you is anti Semitic is not only arrogant, but it’s getting very old. The world used to give Zionists a pass on that argument, but the world is gradually waking up to the fact that the cruelty and the loss of life that’s taking place in the Middle East as a direct result of our catering to Israel is resulting in yet another Holocaust, but this time it’s being carried out by Israelis. So you’ve just about played the sympathy card out.
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So spare us the guilt trip, because it ain’t working anymore. I’m not buying into the send-your-sons-to-die-to- prove-that-you-don’t-hate-Jews bit. So if you want to accuse me of being anti Semitic, knock yourself out. Your Zionist gravy train is about over. We’re tired of dying so you can live in privilege.
.Tim 2 June 19, 2011 - 5:23 pm
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Eric –
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I don’t want a pass from you or your kind. Nor do I expect you or your kind to admit you’re anti-Semitic, so I certainly don’t expect you to feel “guilty” about any of your horrific ideas and thoughts presented here.
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And just because I disagree with you, doesn’t make me conclude you’re anti-Semitic. It’s just that you are. And you are one of the worst kind of anti-Semites.
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I only want one thing and that’s for you to know you’re fooling no-one, not even yourself.
.Eric L. Wattree June 19, 2011 - 9:23 pm
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Tim 2,
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Hmmm, let’s see. You said,
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“And just because I disagree with you, doesn’t make me conclude you’re anti-Semitic. It’s just that you are. And you are one of the worst kind of anti-Semites.”
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Wait a minute. I think I get it. You don’t conclude that I’m anti semitic just because YOU disagree with me. You think I’m the worst kind of anti Semite because I disagree with YOU. Oddly enough, that kind of makes sense to me. Anyone who thinks that everyone should have equal rights in Israel hates Jews. I think I’ve got it.
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No wonder there’s so much turmoil over there. Your philosophy is, anyone who disagrees with you is the enemy. That kind of thinking is not only dangerous, but absolutely psychotic.
.Eric L. Wattree June 20, 2011 - 7:20 am
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Tim 2,
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There are many Jews who take the exact same position that I do with respect to Zionism. Are they anti Semitic? Then what makes me any different from them? You've presented absolutely no evidence that I'm anti Semitic. Thus, the only basis that you have for coming to that conclusion - at least, the only basis that you've stated in this discussion - is that I'm a non Jew who disagrees with your belief that Zionist should be given the right to discriminate against non Jews. That represents the epitome of intolerance - Hitlerian intolerance. So I think I'm on solid ground in suggesting that Zionism represents the Nazi wing of Judaism.
.Tim 2 June 20, 2011 - 8:14 am
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Eric,
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You mean I haven’t given you my rationale for why I believe you are an anti-Semite. You have never asked me for that, choosing instead to project your own rationale upon me.
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Here is my rationale:
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1)Your article denies the history of the Jewish people ( I did state this in an earlier comment and added that this is perhaps the most sever e type of anti-Semitism). This is exhibited most clearly by statements, “Far be it from me, however, to say who’s a Jew and who’s not, but I think we can all agree that European Jews are not the same Jews that were spoken of in the Bible,” and “Think about it– as bad as the Germans and Russians treated the Jews over the years, you’d think the Jews would have been given part of one of those countries,” and ““Granted, when someone invades your home you do have a right to retaliate against them, but Europeans have about as much right to call Israel their home as I’d have of tearing off a part of China simply because I converted to Buddhism.”
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2)You accuse Jews of being racists and of ethnic cleansing if not of outright genocide claiming in your article, “How can you go into your neighbor’s home and kill his family, then call him the aggressor? And now they’re talking about invading Iran! It’s all about racism and greed,” and “So the Israeli claim that their slaughter of the Arab people is simply an attempt to defend themselves is nothing but a farce. “
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3)You accuse Israel as being the source of all mid-east and even worldwide problems and conflicts and, more importantly, of costing US citizens’ and soldiers’ lives saying, “This is an issue that desperately needs to be addressed, because due to our failure to do so, American troops are dying, the United States treasury is being looted, and the entire world is being placed at risk.“
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4)You compare Zionism to Nazism saying in your last comment to me, “So I think I’m on solid ground in saying that Zionism represents the Nazi wing of Judaism.”
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Your comments are the quintessential comments of an anti-Semite. They revise or fabricate history and fact to libel, demean and defame an entire people.
.Eric L. Wattree June 20, 2011 - 10:06 am
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Tim 2,
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First, when you accuse someone of being anti semitic, or anything else, for that matter, they shouldn’t have to ask you for your rationale. A fundamental rule of 7th grade English is when you make an assertion you should start substantiating that assertion in the very next sentence.
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And regarding the other issues that you bring up, that’s not proof that I’m anti Semitic. Those are the facts as I see them, and many non Zionist Jews take some of the very same positions. Just because a person disagrees with you doesn’t mean that they hate you. I disagreed with my late wife all of the time, but I loved her dearly. I currently disagree with my children on many issues, but I also love them dearly. And I have a growing number of disagreements with Barack Obama, yet, unless he does something incredibly stupid, I intend to vote for him in the next election. So we’ve come full circle back to your very dangerous belief than anyone who disagrees with your distorted belief system is the enemy, and I repeat, you and Adolph Hitler would be in full agreement in that regard.
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And finally, you’ve now accused me of defaming “an entire people.” That’s a flat-out lie. I’m not criticizing all Jews, any more than I would criticize all White people of being Nazis, or all Black people of being hip hop artists. I’m critizing the criminal malevolence of Zionism. Period. But the fact is, you find it convenient to conflate Zionism with Judaism in an attempt to generate sympathy for your bigoted philosophy.
.Texas Vet June 20, 2011 - 8:24 am
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I’m sorry Eric that you had to listen to Tim 2 blabber on. He can’t help it if his head is screwed on backwards. But, you handled him well and with compassion. Thanks. As a fellow human, he deserves that much, though he seems unwilling to respond in kind.
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Keep writing Tim 2. But think clearly. Just remember, you’re tangling with serious intellects in Wattree and some of the rest of us on this site.
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Texas Vet. First Cav
.Eric L. Wattree June 20, 2011 - 10:44 am
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Thank you, Tom.
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Based on this guy’s philosophy we should be bitter enemies instead of best friends. After all, I’m a progressive and you’re a staunch conservative. We disagree on many things, so naturally, you must hate Black people.
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Eric L. Wattree http://wattree.blogspot.com/Ewattree@Gmail.com
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Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

This is the eulogy that I wrote and delivered for my father’s funeral. We had the sounds of Jackie McLean playing softly in the background, and I remember the Reverend being not at all happy with the sound of jazz wafting through his sanctuary on that somber occasion. But I pointed out to him that if there was no Jazz in Heaven, for my father, the Pearly Gates would represent the entrance to Hell.

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Happy Father's Day, C.

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Blues For Mr. C
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For those of you who don't know me, my name is Eric, and I'm proud to say that I am the second son of this man who lies here before you. Some of you knew him as C.L., others as Mac, but I'm sure you'll agree that no matter what you called him, or under whatever circumstances you knew him, life with this brother was an adventure - so you can only imagine what it was like to be his son.

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I had occasion to discuss this moment with C not too many months ago. I remember asking him what he wanted me to say on this occasion. His answer was cut and dried - and consistent with his philosophy of life. He said, "Tell 'em I'm dead."

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Well, ladies and gentlemen, C.L. is dead. But I think much more needs to be said, not only about who he was, but about what he represents. You see, ladies and gentlemen, what we have here is not just the remains of a human being. What we have lying here before us represents the end of an era.

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Today we live in an era of Hip hop, joggin' suits, and tennis shoes. But this man represents another era. He represents the era of Bebop, Brooks Brother's suits and Florshiem's. It didn't take James Brown to tell this man that "I'm Black and I'm proud,” or Jesse Jackson to tell him, "I am somebody," - all you had to do is see him enter a room and you knew this was a proud Black man who knew exactly who he was. Just to here him speak was to recognize that this was a man with a strong sense of self - and he had every right to. Because he's the product of a generation of Black people who had a profound effect on the entire world, and one day the world will look back upon them with honor, in recognition of that fact.

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Whenever you hear a discussion on Black pride, someone always brings up the issue of Egypt, and whether or not Cleopatra was Black. All that's academic. We don't have to go all the way back to antiquity to find a source of Black pride, all we have to do is study the life and times of our parents, our grandparents, and that generation of Black people born between the turn of the century and WWII, to find pride in who we are as a people.

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In less than 50 years these people went from being the defenseless, and nameless victims of public lynchings, to becoming people like Colon Powell, who was responsible for the defense of the entire western world. In less than 50 years, the people of this generation went from housekeepers and flunkies, to the boardrooms of multinational corporations. In less than 50 years, they went from playing washboards and tin cans on the side of the road, to becoming the greatest musicians the world has ever known. That's the era that C.L. represents.

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To be sure, he wasn't a doctor, a lawyer, or an artist of any kind, but he, like the vast majority of his generation, helped to create doctors, lawyers, and artists, and set the tone - and the sense of style - that defines who we are as a people; and not just any people, but a people who captured the imagination of the entire world.
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You see, C.L. personified the Jazz age - an age of style, true pride, and dignity. He didn't just like Bird, he was Bird - he was the living, breathing, personification of every note that Bird related so eloquently on his horn. And he didn't just listen to Miles, as he brooded through the changes of "Stella By Starlight," he was portrayed by Miles - just as surely as the Mona Lisa was portrayed by Di Vinci. And for that reason, this generation - his generation of Black people - defied all scholarly analysis.

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According to sociologists, every minority group must, and will, become acculturated into the larger society. That is, their culture will be molded to fit into that of the majority. But this generation, through necessity, not only defied that theory, but turned it on its head. As a direct result of the character and the style of this generation, a young White kid today has more in common with the Black culture in terms of speech, dress, musical tastes, and attitudes, than he has with his own grandfather. And to just turn on a television set or radio any place in the Western world and beyond, is to pay homage to Dizzy, Bird, Miles and all the rest of this great, and progressive generation.

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But the one thing that made this generation stand out most - and I think it's what C.L. most clearly personified - was its independence. C.L. never asked the government for a thing - in fact, he spent most of his life trying to make it in spite of the government. He and his generation of black people taught us the wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson's words written over 150 years ago in his essay on self-reliance. He said, "It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after one's own; but great is the man who, in the midst of the crowd, keeps with perfect sweetness, the independence of solitude."
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Measured by that yard stick, C.L. was a great man. He achieved the "American dream" of home and family without compromising any of his values. To paraphrase Frank Sinatra, he did it his way, but to put it in C.L.'s words, "I didn't budge a inch."

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So when we look back on what this man represents - Langston Hughes, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Medger Evers, Adam Clayton Powell, our parents, and our grandparents - it becomes clear that they all, in their own way, represent the greatness that lie dormant within us. And if we're smart, we'll explore that resource, because within every life there resides a source of knowledge, and with every death, a source of knowledge is forever lost.

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So what we mourn here today is not just the passing of a man, but a lost opportunity, and the dying gasp of a magnificent era.

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C, these words spew forth with the love, pride, and deep respect of a loving son. So sleep well, my man - and carry my pride in your being, throughout eternity.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

I’m about to do something that I generally make it a point to avoid – discuss the collective nature of White folks. The reason I make it a point to avoid this subject is because I don’t want to add to the disinformation disseminated by many Black racists (oh yes, racists come in Black too) that there is something more intrinsically evil in White people than there is in any other racial group.

The fact is, as humans, just as intellect is distributed equally across our species, so is malevolence. We all have a tendency to be self-serving and corrupt given half a chance. The only difference between White people and any other group is that they have the power, thus opportunity, to reflect that side of their nature – and to anyone who wants to challenge my assertion in that regard, I invite you to witness the Black-on-Black mayhem that’s currently taking place on the continent of Africa, or take the police out of the Black communities of America and see the level of enlightenment that prevails – it would be the survival of the fittest within a week.

So it seems that the common trait shared by all those who tend to be inhumane and corrupt is neither race, creed, nor color. What they all have in common is power, opportunity, and greed. And let there be no doubt, that’s the source of all of the turmoil in the Middle-East – the power, opportunity, and greed of Israel and the American military/industrial complex.

But whenever anyone seeks to examine this issue they’re immediately met with hysterical charges of being either unpatriotic, anti-Semitic, or both. So while everyone is aware of the problem, we tend to turn a blind eye to it.

This is an issue that desperately needs to be addressed, because due to our failure to do so, American troops are dying, the United States treasury is being looted, and the entire world is being placed at risk. So enough with all of the name-calling and accusations. Israel’s behavior needs to be scrutinized just like any other country in the world.

Pure, objective, and unadulterated truth is not nearly as complicated or elusive as we try to make it seem in this country. But since truth doesn’t lend itself to being Black, White, Jew, or Gentile, when the truth comes up less than a perfect fit to our carefully constructed comfort zone, we tend to beat, distort, and convolute it into a more comfortable fit. In the process, however, we do ourselves a gross injustice, because no matter how you distort it, truth will always prevail in the end. That is the source of most of our problems in this world. We all seek to distort the truth in a way that is most palatable to our special interest – and this problem is magnified by the fact that our writers, political pundits, and politicians have a natural tendency to seek applause and self-interest over truth. But if we’re indeed dependent on the truth to set us free, let us not doom ourselves to a life of death, carnage, and intellectual bondage by living a lie.

And the truth is, our poor and middle-class young people are being wooed by slick government commercials to become cannon fodder in a war for profit. But young people, take it from an old Marine, it’s all a lie. They’re only showing you the benefits and upside of military life, with you standing proud and strong in your spotless uniform at home with all the girls looking at you with admiring eyes. They’re not showing you the real picture, with you lying in 120 degree heat in agony thousands of miles from home bleeding to death from the stub that use to be your leg, or looking at your foot in a bloody boot twenty-five yards away from where the rest of you lie dying. They’re being criminally remiss in not showing you that side of military life.

Now, don’t get the impression that I’m a pacifist, or hate the military, however – I’m not. There IS a time when war is justified, but this ain’t it. You know it’s time to go to war when you’re prepared to see your own love ones become it’s first casualty, but it’s abundantly clear that no one in our government has reached that point as yet. If they had, they’d be encouraging their kids to enlist.

Where is Liz Cheney, or the Bush girls? They can drive a truck. But no, not on your life – their idea of patriotism is cheering on the dying “little people” from the lobby of exclusive tennis clubs. So be all that you can be, but don’t be a fool. You won’t be fighting for your country; you’ll be fighting for Exxon and Halliburton’s collusion with Israel to rob the people of the Middle East, and gouge the American taxpayer.

The truth is, the dispute over Israel is nothing less than “The Manifest Destiny” being reenacted. When the Europeans came to America and began to strip the indigenous people of their land, they justified their unholy atrocities by declaring that it was God’s will that they settle and bring his word to this “uncivilized land”– it was their manifest destiny. So in true civilized, Christian fashion, they began to spread the Holy word of God through the hot muzzle of a Gatlin gun. It was a brutally unconscionable and gruesome event, but what could these good Christians do? After all, it was God’s will that they slaughter those “Godless savages.” That is the exact same scenario that is currently taking place in the Middle East today. It began with the “creation” of the state of Israel in 1948, and the campaign continues as I speak – but this time, it’s called Zionism.

In 1882, while Jews were being massacred throughout Russia, Leo Pinsker, the founder of the Zionist movement, published a small booklet entitled “Auto-emancipation”. It pointed out that Jews would never find equality in Russia, so it was necessary for world Jewry to establish their own homeland. At first he didn’t care where it was located – in fact, the area encompassing Zaire, Africa was even considered. But later, Pinsker recognized that in order to get Jews to immigrate in numbers large enough to establish a homeland, he needed a location that would inspired the Jewish soul, and no location in the world would suit that purpose like Palestine, the land of Zion – “the land that God had promised the Jews.” The fact that there were indigenous people already living in Palestine never even crossed his mind.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines Zionism as follows: “Zionism: An organized movement of world Jewry that arose in Europe in the late 19th century with the aim of reconstituting a Jewish state in Palestine. Modern Zionism is concerned with the development and support of the state of Israel.”

Thus, Zionism, by definition and design, is a doctrine dedicated to the taking of Palestine – and on May 14, 1948, European Jews did just that. Between 1944 and 1948, due to their experience with the Nazi’s, Eastern European Jews wanted to get off the European continent by any means necessary, so various Zionist organizations created the Bariha (escape) Organization that helped close to 200,000 Jews to leave Europe and settle in Palestine. Prior to that time, in July of 1922, the League of Nations (the progenitor of the United Nations) gave Great Britain a mandate to protect the people of Palestine, but on November 29, 1947 when the U. N. General Assembly passed a resolution to partition off Palestine between the Arabs and Jews, Great Britain announced that it was terminating its mandate. The end of the British mandate was to go into effect on May 15, 1948, but on May 14, 1948 the Zionists declared the creation of Israel, a Jewish state.

But in order for the new State of Israel to have any legitimacy it had to be recognized by the United States. The U.S. State Department was less than enthusiastic about creating a Jewish state in Palestine, but shortly after President Truman took office, European Zionist, Chaim Weizmann, convinced the president that it was only just that the survivors of the holocaust would be given their own homeland. Truman agreed, and recognized the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, and all hell’s been breaking loose every since.

The Israeli-American alliance was a match made in Hell from the very outset – they didn’t even trust each other. One of the largest units in the CIA is dedicated to the prevention of Israeli spying on the United States, and one of the biggest spy scandals in U.S. history involved an Israeli spy name Jonathan Pollard, an American of Jewish descent, born in Galveston, Texas. But in spite of that, Israel receives more U.S. foreign aid than any other country in the world, and we’ve made them one of the most formidable military forces in the world. The reason for that?–oil.

Israel stands as an extension of the United States in the Middle East, within easy striking distance of Middle Eastern oil fields. So what we have in the Middle East is an unholy quid pro quo -The United States will help the Israelis steal Arab land, and the Israelis will help the United States steal the oil beneath the land.

So the Israeli claim that their slaughter of the Arab people is simply an attempt to defend themselves is nothing but a farce. Granted, when someone invades your home you do have a right to retaliate against them, but Europeans have about as much right to call Israel their home as I’d have of tearing off a part of China simply because I converted to Buddhism.

Far be it from me, however, to say who’s a Jew and who’s not, but I think we can all agree that European Jews are not the same Jews that were spoken of in the Bible. But, of course, you’re not suppose to even whisper such sentiments here in America. To say that European Jews don’t belong in Israel, or to speak out on any atrocity that the State of Israel might commit, is considered anti Semitic in this country. But even that’s a farce. There’s a big difference between being anti Semitic and anti Zionist. To be anti Semitic is to be against a people, while being anti-Zionist is to be against a philosophy. After all, all Jews are not Zionist. But there’s another issue here as well. How can you be anti Semitic towards Europeans? They aren’t even Semites.

The situation above describes exactly why we’re in Iraq and Afghanistan today. Thus, all of the killing in the Middle East is about European hubris, injustice, and greed. The entire justification for Europeans being in the Middle East at all, is based on a lie – and that includes Europeans by way of America.

How can you go into your neighbor’s home and kill his family, then call him the aggressor? And now they’re talking about invading Iran! It’s all about racism and greed. Think about it– as bad as the Germans and Russians treated the Jews over the years, you’d think the Jews would have been given part of one of those countries. If they’d done that, European Jews wouldn’t have even had to leave home. But White folks don’t play that – no matter how much they hate each other.

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Is the GOP Manipulating Black Intellectuals to destroy the First Black President?

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Unfortunately, the corporatocracy seems to understand Black people much better than we understand ourselves. But that’s fully understandable, since they’ve had centuries of experience in observing our behavior. They understand that since Black people are the product of the very same racist environment as White people, we tend to be just as racist toward other Blacks as any Hillbilly. That explains why we never see a drive-by committed by a person wearing a sheet. The Klan has learned, just like the powers that be, that we’re much more efficient at destroying one another than they could ever be.

That’s what makes the phrase “airing our dirty laundry” such a joke. Everyone else in the world seems to see the skid marks in our dirty drawers but us. Take the matter of Barack Obama , for example. Those who specialize in manipulating the American people clearly understand that his rapid rise to become President of the United States tends to diminish the accomplishments of Black leaders and intellectuals all over the country. Thus, many of these leaders have become ripe, willing, and enthusiastic accomplices in the effort to drag this president down, regardless of the negative consequences to Black people, or America as a whole. So the manipulators know that all they have to do is suggest reasonable sounding grounds to criticize Obama, then sit back and wait for the envious Black aristocracy to till the fields and pluck the cotton.

It’s the old crabs in a barrel syndrome. It’s a technique that has never failed in over three hundred years. It kept us in slavery, it was the foundation of CoIntelPro, and it killed Malcolm X. So it’s a technique that has been tried, certified, and true. But now, instead of slaves snitchin’ on slaves, we have so-called Black leaders and intellectuals engaging in 21st century arguments to justify 19th century thinking.

Now don’t get me wrong, every politician deserves intense scrutiny and criticism when needed, and that includes Barack Obama. In fact, my very next article is going to do just that. But my complaint is going to be clear rather than amorphous, and it’s going to address a specific issue that the president is capable of addressing. Because I see it, it is one thing to hold a president accountable, and yet another to try to drag him through the mud without clear justification, and that’s exactly what I see going on.

By now everyone is aware of Dr. Cornel West’s tirade against President Obama, so we won’t even bother to revisit that, but now Dr. Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University has written an article, “Black Unemployment Rises Yet Again: Yes, We Are in a State of Emergency,” that seems to lay the rise in Black unemployment directly at President Obama’s feet. Dr. Watkins said:

“One has to ask this question: Just how high does the black unemployment rate have to be before the Obama Administration and Congress reconsider their policies against engaging in targeted action on behalf of black and brown communities? If the unemployment rate were 20 percent, would that convince them that there is a problem? What about 25 percent? Perhaps there is some hidden law against advocating for people of color?”

Now, admittedly, I’m no scholar so maybe I’m missing an important detail here, but it seems clear to me that the Obama Administration and the congress are far from one entity, and there is absolutely nothing that President Obama can do to force a private corporation to hire workers if they choose not to. It is also clear that corporations have a vested interest in making sure that unemployment remains high - especially among Obama’s base. By doing so they enhance the chances of the GOP regaining power in the 2012 election, and thereby, reestablishing the status quo, a laissez-faire business environment where businesses have free rein to do whatever they like to increase profits.

In addition, the Republican Party has done everything in their power to ensure that the American people remain miserable, divided, and angry until the 2012 election. Rush Limbaugh gave them their marching orders early in Obama’s presidency. Limbaugh said, “I don't want this to work . . . I hope he [Obama] fails." And the Republicans have been on a single-minded mission to ensure Obama’s failure every since.

From that moment on, every initiative that President Obama has put forward to improve the economy and create new jobs has been met with fierce Republican opposition. They don’t care that America is suffering. They want America to suffer - the more the better. All they care about is making absolutely sure that President Obama doesn’t succeed in bringing relief to the misery they caused the American people under eight years of George W. Bush.

To that end, the Republicans in congress have engaged in a record number of filibusters in an attempt to block every initiative that Obama has put forward to rescue the American people. Their determination is so fierce in that regard that any Republican who fails to go along with their strategy is in dire jeopardy of being banished from congress.
And even those initiatives that did manage to miraculously survive were being blocked from implementation by Republican Governors across the country, under the pretense that rescuing America constituted “wasteful spending.” But their concern over the budget deficit didn’t prevent Republicans for a minute from holding the unemployed hostage to extend the Bush tax cut for the rich which, to a large extent, is what brought us to this point in the first place

The Houston Chronicle reported Texas governor, Rick Perry, as saying, with regard to federal money to assist the unemployed,

“The money would come with too many strings attached. Taking the half billion would require the state to assist qualified out-of-work residents seeking part-time jobs, an idea that Perry said the state has rejected before, partly because it could discourage them from seeking full-time employment. The federal money injection would also make Texas extend benefits to more low-paid workers, and Perry said the overall expansion would force business to make higher unemployment insurance payments.”

Yet, after initially turning down federal money targeted at creating jobs, Perry eventually took the stimulus money. But instead of using it to create jobs and bring relief to the poor and middle class, he used it to plug his budget shortfalls and save his “rainy day fund.” CNN Money reports the following:

"Texas, which crafts a budget every two years, was facing a $6.6 billion shortfall for its 2010-2011 fiscal years. It plugged nearly all of that deficit with $6.4 billion in Recovery Act money, allowing it to leave its $9.1 billion rainy day fund untouched . . . Now that the stimulus money has dried up, state lawmakers last week unveiled an austere budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal years that cuts $31 billion in spending. Schools, colleges, Medicaid and social services for the needy will be hit especially hard."

Republican governors are showing the exact same kind of disregard for the poor and middle class all over the country, yet we have these Black academics pointing their collective finger at Obama. This carefully selected criticism among many Black scholars is quite curious to say the least. While this seeming inability, or refusal, to connect the dots is understandable with Cornel West - he’s essentially a Harvard anointed preacher - it is quite disheartening among scholars like Dr. Boyce Watkins. His Ph.D. is in the area of economics and finance, so one would expect much more insight from him.

On Your Black World, Dr. Watkins’ own website, he quotes Ursula Burns , chairwoman and CEO of the Xerox Corporation, and the first African-American woman to head Fortune 500 company, as saying, “Families and our schools have failed in preparing [our young people] to compete.”

Dr Watkins goes on to point out that in an interview with CNN’s Soledad O’Brien Ms. Burns indicates that “She is ‘panic stricken’ by the lack of qualified applicants coming out of American schools. She isn’t just speaking about black and brown children, but all young people. She goes on to say, ‘We have jobs open ... we can find better candidates in other nations and other places than we can here.’”

So why are so many Black scholars continually pointing their finger at Obama instead of addressing these issues in the community? One doesn’t need a Ph.D. to whine. A high school dropout can do that. We need Black scholars to address the issue of the aversion to knowledge that pervades not only the Black community, but the nation as a whole. We, along with the corporate media, have produced a generation filled with mindless hedonists, and that's an issue that's hemorrhaging to be addressed.

But instead of closing ranks to address this life or death issue, many Black scholars are using all of their intellectual resources to justify trotting out one after the other, and arm-in-arm with social bigots, to engage in America’s most beloved and enduring game - “Bring down the uppity nigga.”

Monday, June 06, 2011

God made birds to fly, fish to swim, and man to think, so the pursuit of knowledge should be a lifelong endeavor and used as a primary assessment of all men. But we should never confuse credentials with knowledge, because some of the greatest minds I’ve ever known held court while sitting on empty milk crates in the parking lots of ghetto liquor stores, while some of the weakest minds I’ve ever known roamed the halls of academia in pursuit of credentials over knowledge.

*Knowledge is free, so one must choose to be ignorant.
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*Self-Esteem: Never Doubt Yourself. You should always dedicate yourself to truth, and be free of ugliness, mean-spiritedness, and spite.
Then when others hate you, you know it's due to their ugliness and aversion to truth, not your own.
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*Never be afraid of failure. The only reason you can walk is because you got tired of falling down.
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*The greatest lesson in wisdom, intelligence, and class is the understanding that one doesn't corner the market on any of them.
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*Intrinsic to every zealot's passion for justice lies the seeds of tyranny.
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*An efficient thinker gives truth priority over ideology, while ideologues give ideology priority over truth.
.*The contemplative must always endure the pestilence of mediocrity.
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*The petty is forced to view life through a microscope in order to find their virtue.
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*Wit without wisdom is a waste.
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*An unexamined life is a waste of skin.
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*Socialism: Any government policy that impugns my right to swindle others.
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* Freedom: The right to deprive others of their rights, freedom, and equality.
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* Religion: The pursuit of God's approval to hate all those who don't look, think, and act like myself.
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* Faith: The embrace of something that doesn't make sense, but it's convenient for me to believe.
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*History: The romanticized account of ordinary men engaged in routine stupidity.
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*American History: The often exaggerated, and invariably sanitized account of ordinary men committing unconscionable atrocities in the name of God.
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*Seek to become your own hero, and never allow anyone to remove your cape.
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*To Black people: The establishment doesn't recognize the power of your intellect. Use that to your advantage, because your history lies before you.
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*The very rules designed to curb the excesses of irresponsibility, also tend to restrict genius within the boundaries of mediocrity..
*Ask not, what your country can do for you. Ask, what YOU can do for yourself.
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*Hostility is a sign of a weak and frustrated mind.
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*There are only two kinds of people in this world - good people, and bad people - and ignorance is the dividing line between the two.
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*The only true road to perfect fulfillment is dedicating your life to becoming your own hero.
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*Without mistakes we would never grow; so we shouldn't mourn our mistakes, we should celebrate our growth.
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*You must recognize who you are, to visualize what you can become.
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*The difference between a discussion and a debate is in a discussion both parties have the maturity to understand that since neither corners the market on either wisdom, knowledge, or intelligence, the point of the encounter is to share their respective points of view - not to win, but to learn.
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*Money is the root of small people.
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*Never seek recognition. Always seek excellence, and allow recognition to seek out you.
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*What an individual says is meaningless - always watch what they do.
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*When you choose to live in a fantasy, you're forced to view reality as a myth.
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*You can either speak the truth for the sake of humanity, or be popular. You cannot do both.

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*Efficient thought requires that we first, see life as it is, and only then, as we would have it.
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*There is no status more lonely than that of an exceptional Black man - he’s hated by the White establishment because he’s a threat to the status quo, and he’s hated by the Black "aristocracy" because he’s a pie in the face of their delusions of grandeur.
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*The subconscious mind doesn't deal in self-assessment, so what you tell it you are, it believes, and begins to work on that assumption.

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*You are what you think, so if you refuse to think, you're nothing.
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*We all have a burning desire to impress others with who we are, but more often than not we try to express that need through what we have, and there's a huge difference between the two.
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*Pseudo-intellectual: One who imparts common knowledge like he's telling you something new.
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*American Exceptionalism: "Of course we believe in the Bible, EXCEPT when it's in conflict with our greed, prejudice, and self-interest."
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*It's one thing to feel superior, that's merely high self-esteem, but when you begin to believe it, that's arrogance.
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*Guns are a metaphor for penises, and "American exceptionalism" is a sexual fantasy.
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*Waiting on happiness to make you happy will insure an unhappy existence. Be happy now!
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*Never confuse hedonism with happiness.
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*The only mature form of competition is against you're last best effort.
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*God made birds to fly, fish to swim, and man to think - but fish have sense enough to adhere to their nature.
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*Never give anyone else's ability to think priority over your own.
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*It's not the system that's dysfunctional, we are - we're so apathetic that we're allowing the craziest among us to control the system.
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*Heroes are for kids - they don't have bills to pay.
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*Poverty Pimp: One who has an overwhelming need to buy a homeless man a sandwich - but feels an even greater need to bring a camera crew along to record the event.
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*Conservatism: 21st Century pretexts for 19th Century thinking.
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*Demagogue: One who's quick to give you all he's got - but all he's got is a passionate desire to manipulate you.
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*Compassionate Conservative: A Christian conservative who's morally, and fundamentally, opposed to lynching - so he'll starve you to death instead.
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*Donald Trump: Hitler in a wig.
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*Never fully trust ANY politician - after all, they've dedicated themselves to a life of crime.
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*Political Rule of Thumb: Trying to find a politician who's not self-serving is like searching for a homosexual who's not gay.
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*In order for ANY politician to get the majority of votes from people who disagree, he must lie to at least some of them - so if your favorite politician is holding office, he's a liar by definition.
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*One's intelligence rises to accommodate one's level of curiosity.
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*Ninety-nine percent of the people are petty, self-serving hedonists. I only hope the remaining one percent can save me from myself.
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*When you feel obliged to lock out differing points of view, you incarcerate yourself in a prison of ignorance.
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*Never become so enraptured by other people's thoughts that you fail to formulate your own.
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*Soaring rhetoric is only as meaningful as the backbone that sustains it.
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*We often confuse literacy with intellect. Intelligence is the capacity to assess and creatively manipulate information that the literate merely regurgitates.
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*Indulging in name-calling is a waste of both time and energy, because fools have a tendency to do all the heavy lifting for you.
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*Some of the best money I've ever spent was on the gratitude in the eyes of a homeless man.
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*Truth was the very first victim of American Exceptionalism.
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*Politicians are not our leaders; they're our employees - and we're grossly neglecting the business.
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*Friends are at their best when rewarding our failure to succeed.
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*True love is always having your lover's back, and knowing you don't have to worry about your own.
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*Some of the greatest minds I've ever known held court while sitting on empty milk crates in the parking lots of ghetto liquor stores.
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*Some of the weakest minds I’ve ever known roamed the halls of academia giving the pursuit of credentials priority over the pursuit of knowledge.
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*Before you point your finger at another, you should smell it first.
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*The only difference between Arab terrorism and American terrorism is the cost and efficiency of the delivery system.
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*The great institutions of learning can only certify that one was present in an environment where knowledge was shared. But no institution can confer either intelligence, character, or common sense, nor can it certify that the knowledge shared was absorbed.
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*Man's innate thirst for knowledge will someday overwhelm his passionate lust for stupidity.
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*Show me a man who believes that Moses parted the Red Sea, and I'll show you one whose grip on reality can't be relied upon.
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*More often than not, the happiest moments in your life won't cost you a dime.
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*The only difference between you and Socrates is that you're still capable of correcting your erroneous beliefs.
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*The key to Black liberation is to practice excellence as though it's a jump shot.
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*State's Rights: We demand our constitutional right to lynch whomever we wish.
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*Libertarian: I demand my individual right to abridge the rights of whomever I please.
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*The GOP: Liberals are un-American - they're engaged in a socialist plot to protect your family.
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*Religious Bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.
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*We accept the Bible as the word of God because the Bible says it is. Go figure it.
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*Question: When we're asked to "have faith," are we being asked to have faith in God, or to have faith in what man tells us about God?
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*Question: Can one believe in God, yet have no faith in man?
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*Question: If we can only be "saved" though Christ, did God condemn everyone born in non-Christian nations before birth?
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*Question: If God knows all, and he knows before Billy is born that Billy is going to Hell, can Billy do anything in life to make God wrong?
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*Every experience is a source of knowledge, so having to endure adversity makes one more, rather than less.
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*One should take great pride in being the product of adversity, because your mere survival provides you with unassailable credentials.
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*Unfortunately, man is most generously rewarded for his collusion in the conspiracy against mankind.
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*If one can’t find happiness in poverty, wealth will prove to be an ineffective mentor.
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*It is always gratifying to win a debate, but losing one is of much more value.
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*We’re Black and we’re proud - right up until we escape.
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*Question: Why is it that we allow our children to watch murder and mayhem all day long, but if a woman's breast is exposed we feel they've been irretrievably corrupted?
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*We must buy a license to marry, but we're free to hate with impunity. Go figure it.
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*I love you madly, my brother - until you succeed.
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*Black people are the product of the very same racist environment as White people. Thus, we're just as racist toward other Blacks as any Hillbilly.
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*Corporatists: It is always a delight to take so much credit for what so many others have done.
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*Always follow truth, regardless to where it leads, or whose ox it gores.
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*Older women aren't quite as frisky as young ones, but at least I have someone to talk to when I'm done.
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*The perfect woman: One who only tells me to go to Hell half the time.
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*An epiphany: The triumph of common sense over wishful thinking.
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*A personal epiphany: Never publish without running spellcheck.
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*Truth: You know you're aging when you've got the hots for the lady in the Depends commercial.

Society Of Professional Journalists

Eric L. Wattree

Strive To Become Your Own Hero... Then Let No One Remove Your Cape.

BIO

Eric L. Wattree is a writer, poet, and musician, born in Los Angeles. He’s been a columnist for The Los Angeles Sentinel, Black Star News, The Atlanta Post, and is a member of the Sigma Delta Chi Society of Professional Journalists (http://www.spj.org/). He’s also the author of "A Message From the Hood."Some of the greatest minds I’ve ever known held court while sitting on empty milk crates in the parking lots of ghetto liquor stores, while some of the weakest minds I’ve ever known roamed the halls of academia in pursuit of credentials over knowledge.Eric L. Wattreehttp://www.whohub.com/wattree

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My Political Persuasion

"YOUR BROTHER, IS THE MAN WHO THINKS LIKE YOU" - UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS.

WHAT A MAN THINKS, IS WHO HE IS. THINK LIKE A MARINE - STRONG, RESOLUTE, AND WITH HONOR.

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The Hater

Am I a hater, you ask? You're damn right I'm a hater. I hate injustice. I hate hypocrisy. I also hate demagoguery, apathy, and the stupidity that allows it to exist. Hater? Absolutely. I'm a big time hater. I hate what I see happening to this country, and I hate watching the development of a culture that embraces ignorance with a stupid sense of pride. So yes, I am indeed a hater, but not only that - I'm a hater with a very low threshold for bullshit, so step off.